Seventh heaven: C's nip Sixers in Game 7

Rajon Rondo had 11 of his 18 points in a crucial fourth quarter stretch while Kevin Garnett scored 18 points and hauled down 13 rebounds in 37 minutes as the Celtics held off the Sixers, 85-75, in a grinding and tense Game 7 Saturday night at TD Garden. Paul Pierce fouled out on a charge with 4:16 left in the fourth and finished with 15 for the Celtics, who open the Eastern Conference finals Monday night in Miami against the Heat. 

The Celtics raced out to a 10-2 lead in the opening three minutes as the Garden crowd was in a frenzy. The Sixers opened the game missing nine of their first 10 shots. But the Sixers took advantage of early foul trouble on the Celtics and used the foul line to get back into the game. They made all seven free throws as they fought back to tie the game, 20-20, after one. The two teams were a combined 13-of-14 from line. 

As has been the case often in this series, the two teams put on an ugly display of offense in the second quarter. The Celtics made just 8-of-22 shots but held the Sixers to a dismal 5-for-18. The Celtics led just 36-32 with under two minutes remaining before half. But Brandon Bass stole an inbounds pass and went in for a dunk that electrified the crowd and highlighted a 5-1 run that put the Celtics up, 41-33 at the half. 

The Celtics came out in the third quarter, looking to continue a series trend that had the team winning the third quarter winning the game. Boston opened a 49-38 lead before the Sixers came back with the next seven points. Pierce then took command, hitting a pair of difficult shots over Andre Iguodala to extend the lead back to eight. But the Celtics ended the third quarter with six bad possessions in a row to give the Sixers life. Philadelphia closed to within one, 53-52, before Iguodala missed two free throws that would've given them the lead. After a foul to give by the Sixers, Garnett hit a jumper as time expired in the third to give the Celtics a 55-52 lead heading into the fourth. 

After starting the game 1-for-9 and 0-for-5 from 3-point range, Ray Allen hit a three with 9:52 left that sent the Garden into pandemonium and gave the Celtics a 60-54 lead. The Celtics missed their first 14 3-pointers before Allen connected from beyond the arc. As the Sixers drew to within three again, Bass hit two free throws and Allen drained another three with 5:52 left to extend the lead to eight, 69-61. The Sixers appeared to have momentum when they drew to within three on an Iguodala three with just over four minutes left. Then he drew a charge on Pierce with 4:16 left to foul out the Celtics captain. But then Rondo answered with a baseline layup and a long two-pointer with 2:49 left to put the Celtics up, 75-68. His three with 2:10 left put the Celtics up, 78-68. 

The Celtics advance to play LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat on Monday night in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference finals. 

For complete coverage of Game 7 at the Garden from the team of Paul Flannery, Mike Petraglia and Ryan Hadfield, visit the Celtics team page at weei.com/celtics and the Green Street blog.